Weekly Chat, Sunday October 3, 2010

Ha! Annette, I deleted that post to move it here. We were both on at the same time, and I saw that you had started the new thread. LOL

Here it is!

Hi, all. I'll catch up with everyone on Sunday. Lots of great photos and chat!

Just wanted to say:

Heather B: I'm so glad that your son-in-law is home and safe. Such a relief for all of you.

Annette: I hope you have a wonderful, peaceful respite in the Sierras!!! Safe journey to you.

Everyone have a good Sunday.

OK. Just had a quick catchup on the latest posts from last week. Will not have time to respond individually but loved all pix - and thanks to ChrisyB for info re comet and Tiger for link.  Welcome back Lynette and sorry about those lost photos (forgot who lost them!).  I'm naughty about backing up stuff too.

I'll be off in the morning and back in about 10 days.  Take care all. Try not to have too much fun or post too much interesting stuff or cute pix until I get back!  :-)

Big hugs to Alan and Lady P.....

I replied on the other thread but will post again here.

Gary, lovely pic of Rio, what a handsome fellow he is and Tiger that is a really nice head shot of Opal. Beautiful dogs, both of them.

Gary I will endeavour to put some cat pics on soon :)

Anette - hope you have a really enjoyable time!

ChrisyB - I didn't know about comet Hartley either, thanks. Thanks Tiger for the link showing it's whereabouts. I doubt I will be able to see it though. Far too much light pollution around here.

Replies going back to Friday evening!

Tiger – loved feeding-baby pics – especially Herons with their punk hair styles! (No, Heron Paul, this doesn’t mean you!) … Like pic of Opel, a lovely face.

Chloe – where are the cats’ pix?

AQ – getting hot with you – I foresee days in the archive for aircon!  Naughty Jasper, scratching furniture – needs good telling off – put him in the naughty corner with only his scratching posts available!  Clocks here fall back one hour last weekend in October (have to express it as “Spring forward, Fall back” to remember which way they go!

Annette – I hope GDaughter appreciates you!  I hope you enjoyed the b’day celebration for daughter, and that you both (and Gdaughter) travel safely.

Liz – good to see you, do come back soon!  Don’t think Caerann has posted much since new job – she said there were new systems learn, so maybe she is having to study to bring herself up to date, so doesn’t have much time.

Lindybird – sorry about the phone – we always expect these everyday things to go on forever!

Paul – our first Blackbird returned this week, too, very smart in his new suit!  Happy October to you too.

Gary – I hope your weekend is going as (un)planned, and that you are enjoying the relaxation – as well as looking forward to visitors later this month.  Thanks for pix of the two horses – and presumably you?  And also for fall foliage – noticed the deciduous woodlands on our way out Saturday were showing more colour than a week ago.  Also love Rio and his lobster friend – was that one of your presents to him?

Brenda – don’t cry!  We all make these mistakes and lose posts from time to time.  Heavy rain seems to be affecting many of us right now – and not only in UK.  Hope you keep safe on your weekend travels.  Pleased your Daughter’s solicitor got firm and arranged the exchange of contracts.  Pay £100 to stroke a Panda?  I think not!! … Oh dear, just seen you didn’t even get away because of lock – hope it got fixed before night.

Emma – sorry you have had computer virus and had to clean everything.  A lesson to us all to keep back-ups regular – note to self: back up tomorrow!

Heather – so pleased the big return happened on time and that your GChilden did not have too long to wait to see their Daddy.

Lynette – welcome home!  Look forward to reading about the trip.

Diane – you “sound” a bit less rushed this morning/evening – I hope that means all the work is slowing down now and you will have more time to talk.

And finally … thanks Annette for starting week – and have a great family time away – relax and enjoy!

Hi Everyone!    Its absolutely p o u r i n g  here, and the rain is drumming on the conservatory roof, so poor Dog has gone into the Sitting Room to escape the noise (he always thinks there's thunder following if it's that loud).

Thanks to Annette for starting the thread as usual, and do  hope you have a really relaxing and pleasurable break next week - do try to just let go & enjoy, you seem to have had a busy year what with one thing and another.

Fell off the wagon with the diet yesterday, as we were so whacked after a long & busy day we had Takeaway Fish & Chips ( with mushy peas, of course!) instead of cooking anything - but by gum it was good!   Enjoyed the first instalment of 'Strictly' after that which is a nice bit of pure escapism.  Also laughed a lot at Michael McIntyre, he is so funny. Spoke to Youngest Son who has just come back from being in Germany for a couple of days for work;  he is not going away again now until after Baby is born. We have now cracked the worst of our busy period at work, and hope to wind things down now and then enjoy packing for our hols later, and getting away before Baby Sweetpea appears on the scene.

We are now resigned to having to buy a new phone, & have been studying the various models - we need one with 3 handsets so that we can jump onto it quickly when it rings.  I hate having to learn all the new instructions for new gadgets, as Husband is too lazy to learn it, and waits until I've mastered it then picks my brains!

Notice that its the new series of AutumnWatch on Thursday night at 8.30pm BBC2 folks, set the video if you can't be in!  Sadly Simon King will not appear, think he's away filming something else.

Had my hair cut on Friday night, the dear little kitten at my hairdressers house is sooo cute! - all stripey.

Have a good Sunday, All - hope poor margobird is not too fixated on her Toilet Watch in all this rain!

Just put church harvest soup through blender.  Now time to get ourselves ready – service (all-age with praise band not organ) followed by charity soup & pud lunch.  Then this afternoon we shall be going to a Craft Fair in a nearby village.

Lovely pics, Gary, Vermont is now my current wallpaper and Rio is so handsome, as is Opel, Tiger.

So glad your SiL has returned in one piece, Heather, is that it now?  How long until he hears where he’s going next?

Hugs to Alan and LadyP, hope you feel able to post soon, missing your sharp and witty comments.

Hope Annette has a good trip, although I may have missed her...

Good Sunday, all.  We were going cycling in Northumberland today but there is a band of heavy rain crossing so will do something local instead (and shorter!). Last time I was on here I had to sign in before posting a reply (as some others of you also did), today it wouldn't even open on My Page - came in via the blog but didn't have to sign in.

As the horses line up at Longchamp for the latest running of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe   my mind will go back to the magnificent day on 4^th October 1987 when I had my best ever result on the horses.

Seventeen years before (1970) Nijinksky  was going to round off his magnificent career by winning the Arc. Well Nijinksky did not win the Arc, he was beaten by a short head by Sassafras. I can still feel the shock. However from that day forward I had a deep desire to see the Prix de l’Arc Triomphe in person.

So it came to pass that a friend (the same one who owns Opal today) and I came to see the race in Paris in 1987. We did a few other things too like visit the Louvre to see the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa and also a lovely boat trip on the Seine.

I seem to remember that on metro on the way to the race my friend was saying that I did not really know my horses and that my information was out of date.

Anyway the red hot favourite for the race was the Epsom Derby winner Reference Point and my friend put a packet on him.

I reckoned that there were three possible winners. I dismissed Reference Point since even if it did win the price was unattractive. There was a French horse ridden by Yives Saint- Martin who I also ruled out because St Martin had been thrown from a horse two races earlier.

I settled on an American horse called Trempolino and ridden by Pat Eddrey.

My memory of it is that as the horse came round the bend Trempolino came to the front and romped home. I felt I was alone cheering that horse. My friend was certainly not pleased as he had lost so much  on Reference Point. He even insisted I go and collect my winnings myself.

I had got 20/1 on Trempolino and it not only won it broke the course record.

That night in Paris we had possibly the most expensive meal of my life. My friend insisted on having the fish soup and as usual it made him sick.

Anyway getting home I wanted to relive my great moment by watching it again on the video. Well I couldn’t as I had taped the wrong channel. It fact it was over twenty years before I saw the race again on TouTube.

Here it is again  1987 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

Interestingly Tony Bin went on to win the race in 1988.

Also the 1970 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Wow, he really came through the gap at the end, didn't he?  18 views, let's see how many more we can make it (Tiger, Chloe, Terry...)